The story so far
- Fox News Ratings Fall 27% in October13 sources
- Murdoch Says Viewer Fatigue Is Hitting Fox News RatingsYou are hereLatest
Updated 1h ago · Business
Murdoch Says Viewer Fatigue Is Hitting Fox News Ratings
Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said Monday that viewer fatigue is driving Fox News ratings declines. He spoke on the company's quarterly earnings call.
- 27% drop in October total-day viewers, to 1.1 million.
- 32% drop in the 25-54 demo, to 98,000 viewers.
- 28% drop in primetime audience in October, year over year.
- Fox News still outdraws CNN and MS NOW combined.
Why it matters: Election seasons usually lift cable news audiences. This cycle, CNN and MS NOW gained while Fox News lost viewers.
- 47% jump in Fox Corp. ad revenue, driven partly by political ads.
- $50 million in midterm ad revenue went to Fox's national networks.
How 6 sources split on this story
Source landscape
Factuality
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Political Bias
Coverage by lean
6 sources · 6 articles · 50% Left coverage
Where they split: Coverage differs on whether the decline is a temporary cycle Fox can ride out, as Murdoch says, or a deeper problem tied to its relationship with President Donald Trump.
Center coverage, 3 sources: The center treats it as an earnings-call story: Murdoch's fatigue explanation alongside strong company results and documented ratings drops.
Left coverage, 3 sources: The left sees a network in steep decline, with AlterNet citing media critic Brian Lowry's argument that Fox's ties to Trump leave it few good options.
What’s next: Murdoch compared this cycle to the 2006 midterms. He said Fox knows how to move through it.
- Fox News lost viewers after the 2020 election but recovered the next year.
- Will Fox News viewers return after the midterms?
- Is the decline tied to news fatigue or to Trump's standing with voters?
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